Air regulation means in a sound absorbing and ventilating ceiling



March 7, 1961 w. A. JACK 2,973,703

AIR REGULATION MEANS IN A SOUND ABSORBING AND VENTILATING CEILING Filed June 6, 1957 INVENTOR flax/4 4 J4cK A ORNEY I I III I 3E! United States Patent'O yeah AIR REGULATION MEANS IN A SOUND ABSORB- ING AND VENTILATING CEILING William A. Jack, Hampton, NJ assignor to Johns- Manville Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 6, 1957, Ser. No. 664,047

2 Claims. (Cl. 98-40) This invention relates to a method and means for a wall construction which allows for sound absorbing in a ventilating system. In this construction, air impervious septa, covering sound absorbing pads, combine with air regulating units in the acoustical pans to provide an efiicient air distributing and sound absorbing system.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a method for including sound absorbing means in a ventilation system wherein air leakage through the acoustical pans and pads is eliminated. I

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ceiling construction wherein the sound absorbing means is completely isolated by means which form a part of the ventilating system.

The invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawings in which:

The only figure is a pictorial representation of a part of a ceiling constructed in accordance with the instant invention.

Referring to the drawing there is disclosed a ceiling construction in which a plurality of T-runners 1 are suspended from the wall 2 by hanger straps 3; the wall 2 is either the ceiling of the particular room compartment, an open girder framework, ceiling joists, a concrete slab, or a construction similar thereto, and it is often referred to as the true ceiling. A clip 4 secures the runners 1 to the straps 3. Each of the runners 1 have depending stems 5 which are resiliently urged together and are formed with a longitudinally extending recess 6. A plurality of acoustical pans 7, having perforated face plates 8, are provided with upstanding flanges 9 having longitudinally extending beads which are adapted to be received in the recesses 6. The acoustical pans 7 are assembled into proper position by pushing the flange 9 up between the stems 5 until the beads 10 snap into the recesses 6. When all the acoustical pans 7 are assembled, a plenum 11 is formed between the wall 2 and the acoustical pans 7. Ducts 12 admit air from the ventilating system to the plenum 11.

A wired grid 13 rests on the upper surface 14 of each face plate 8. A predetermined number of these grids 13 are covered by an air regulating unit 15 which consists of an air impervious paper sheet 16 having a plurality of air flow orifices 17. The free ends 18 of the sheet 16 are glued to the inner surface 19 of the side flanges 9 so that the only air passing through the perforations 20 in the associated plate 8 will be that which flows through the orifice 17.

Into the remaining acoustical pans 7 there are placed sound absorbing pads 21 which rest on the wire grids 13. Under ordinary conditions air in the plenum would leak around the pads 21 and through the joints between adjacent pans. To eliminate this leakage, this invention provides an air impervious septum 22 which covers the sound absorbing pads 21 and the associated supporting "ice structure. Each septum 22 consists of a paper sheet 23 which extends between adjacent air regulating units 15 and over the sound absorbing pads 21. The free ends 24 of each septum 22 are glued to the units 15 and the overlapping edges 25 of adjacent septa 22 are glued to each other to present a complete air tight seal. The septa 22 are provided with a plurality of openings 26 through which the straps 3 pass. Air is prevented from passing through the openings 26 by gluing the edges to the runners 1 and clips 4. Thus, the septa 22 combine with the units 15 to present an air impervious surface to the plenum 11 so that air may flow out of the plenum only through the orifices 17. Therefore, the flow of air in cubic feet per minute from the plenum may be easily related to plenum pressure.

As illustrated in the drawing, the ceiling is constructed by first determining the number of acoustical pans 7 that are to receive air regulating units 15 so that the septa 22 may be placed in position on the runners 1. Sound' absorbing pads 21 are inserted in the desired number of remaining acoustical pans 7 which are assembled in position by inserting the flanges 9 between the stems 5 until the beads 10 snap into the recesses 6. The air regulating units 15 are secured in the acoustical pans 7 by gluing the edges 18 to the flange surfaces 19. The free end 24 of each septum 22 is then glued to the air regulating unit 15 and the acoustical pan 7 snapped into assembled position. The process is repeated until the ceiling is complete. Additional septa 22, shaped as desired, may be used where necessary to complete the air impervious surface.

Air enters through the ducts 12 into the plenum 11 at a pressure in accordance with the desired flow. The septa 22 and the air regulating units 15 present an air impervious surface to the plenum 11 so that air may flow out of the plenum only through the orifices 17. The air then passes out through the perforations 20 in the face plates 8 to the room. Since air may flow only through the orifices 17, the amount in cubic feet per minute may be accurately regulated by varying the pressure in the plenum.

Having thus described the invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

l. A ceiling construction for a room compartment comprising a construction providing a true ceiling of said room compartment, a plurality of juxtapositioned pans, means to suspend the pans from the true ceiling so as to form a viewable false ceiling with a plenum chamber formed between the two ceilings, each of said pans having perforations in a major face thereof, an air-impervious paper-thin septum situated within one of the pans, means to space the septum from the subjacent major face of its pan and related to its pan so as to provide a compartment beneath said septum, pads seated within the other juxtapositioned pans, a second air-impervious paper-thin septum superimposed over the acoustical pads and their subjacent pans and joined to said first septum in a relatively airtight arrangement thereby having the pans with the acoustical pads therein pneumatically sealed off from the remainder of the plenum chamber and also effectively pneumatically isolated from said compartment, means to introduce pressurized, ventilating air into the plenum area above the contiguous septums, and said first-men- 2. A ceiling construction allowing for sound absorption in a ventilating ceiling comprising a true ceiling, a plurality of juxtapositioned pans having perforations therein, means to suspend said pans from said true ceiling so as to form a suspended ceiling with a plenum chamber between the two ceilings, a first air-impervious thin septum located within each of a predetermined number of said pans, means to space each septum from its subjacent pan forming a compartment beneath each septum, each of said paper septums having at least one orifice opening therein, acoustical-type sound absorbing pads situated within the remaining pans forming the suspended ceiling, a second air-impervious thin septum superposed over the pads and their subjacent pans and joined to each of the first-mentioned septums in a relatively airtight relationship thereby efiectively pneumatically isolating the pads and the pans subjacent thereto from the plenum chamber areas above said second septum, and each of said first-mentioned septums being related to its subjacent pan so as to pneumatically separate from the plenum side the pad containing pans from each of the compartments between the first-mentioned septums and the subjacent pans, and means to introduce ventilating air into the plenum area between the paper septums and the true ceiling whereby the ventilating air passes from that portion of the plenum, through the said at least one orifice opening, and through the panel perforations subjacent the at least one opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,172,771 Norris Sept. 12, 1939 2,180,945 Morey Nov. 21, 1939 2,251,663 Darbo Aug. 5, 1941 2,276,788 Norris Mar. 17, 1942 2,587,884 Palmer Mar. 4, 1952 2,775,927 Wulle Jan. 1, 1957 

